Chris Christie for RNC Chair?

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is eyeing the Republican National Committee (RNC) chair position after current chair Reince Priebus accepted a position in the Donald Trump administration as chief of staff, according to Politico‘s Alex Isenstadt.

Isenstadt noted, “One person said the governor had embarked on an aggressive, ‘full-court press’ in hopes of getting the chairmanship. Christie began seriously considering the job over the last week and has concluded that he would be a solid fit, several of his aides said.”

The consideration of Christie, who was recently eased out of Trump’s transition, interestingly after the conviction of Christie’s former aides over “Bridgegate,” is not the first name that comes to mind when thinking RNC chair:

Governor Chris Christie 6th candidate to file petitions with RPV

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Governor Chris Christie has filed petitions to compete in the Virginia presidential primary to be held on Tuesday, March 1, 2016. He is the sixth candidate to file. The other five Republican candidates who have filed petitions are Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, and Ben Carson.

WSJ: Tuesday’s Republican debate most educational

Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell

By Lynn R. Mitchell

I like the way the Wall Street Journal opened its opinion piece about Tuesday’ Republican debate (see Republican fault lines):

Tuesday’s Republican presidential debate wasn’t the most entertaining, but it was the most educational. The two-hour session gave the candidates a chance to critique the Obama record, as well as tease out the GOP’s economic fault lines.

They went on to touch on issues discussed — trade, tax policies, immigration, jobs — and various candidate responses. It’s worth the read — it’s not long. There was also something else they picked up on that other media outlets did also — that Jeb Bush concentrated his attack power on Obama and Hillary, not his fellow candidates:

Jeb Bush had his best debate by focusing his aim on Hillary Clinton’s economic policies rather than on other Republicans. His specificity on regulations he’d repeal was helpful, listing the three most costly in the Obama years.

And then there was this on immigration:

Jeb Bush pushed back against Mr. Trump’s deportation plans, arguing that “to send back” 12 million illegals “is just not possible” and would have the Clinton campaign “doing high-fives” in the general election. We think he’s right about the politics, but Messrs. Trump and Cruz think they can win on an anti-immigration platform. Can they win more than Mitt Romney’s 17% share of the minority vote?

Let’s hope future Republican debates are as informative as the one Tuesday. Fox Business Network, led by Neal Cavuto as one of the three moderators, set up a format that allowed candidates to expand on their answers more so than in previous debates, and questions asked were about issues important in these unsettled times. More of that, please. Oh — and I agree with their assessment that Governor Chris Christie should be on the main stage.

Washington Examiner: The weak candidacies of Clinton, Trump

By Lynn R. Mitchell

The Washington Examiner, my old stomping grounds when they had a blogging team, took on the upcoming 2016 presidential election in their editorial on Friday (see Clinton is weak, and Trump is weaker). In looking at two presidential candidates, they noted a recent Quinnipiac University poll that did not bode well for Hillary Clinton:

Quinnipiac University this week released polls of three swing states that were critical in both of Obama’s electoral victories, Colorado, Iowa, and Virginia. In all three, Hillary Clinton trails Republicans Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush and Scott Walker. Take your pick, she loses. For that matter, so do her other Democratic rivals, Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

What’s more, Clinton, the prohibitive favorite for the Democratic nomination at this point, already enjoys near-universal name recognition in all those states. In contrast to her competitors, voters have made their mind up about her, and her numbers don’t look good — 21 points net-negative favorability in Colorado, 23 net-negative in Iowa, and 9 in Virginia. Majorities have a negative perception of the former first lady.

Jeb continues to lead GOP in CNN/ORC 2016 presidential poll

By Lynn R. Mitchell

CNN reported in their latest 2016 presidential poll that former Florida Governor Jeb Bush continues to lead in the ever-expanding field of Republican candidates:

Bush stands at 19%, up from 13% in May — and his best showing in CNN/ORC polling since December. Trump follows at 12%, up from 3% before his announcement. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (8%), neurosurgeon Ben Carson (7%) and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (7%) round out the top five.

Notably absent from this top five — though statistically speaking not far behind — are Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (6%, down from 14% in May) and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (6%, down slightly from 10%). Both had been top five candidates in each of the last two CNN/ORC polls, and Walker had been in the top five since February.

The poll, conducted just before New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie formally launched his campaign with a rally in Livingston, New Jersey, on Tuesday, also finds that Christie begins his push for the presidency with just 3% support.

The findings suggest Bush is making progress toward being seen as the frontrunner in a field that has long lacked a clear leader. He holds a significant lead over the second-place candidate Trump, is seen as the candidate who could best handle illegal immigration and social issues, and runs about even with Trump and well ahead of the other candidates when Republicans are asked which candidate can best handle the economy.

Trump continues to face fallout due to his negative immigration comments about the Mexican-American/Hispanic community while announcing his candidacy for president. Macy’s, NBC, Univision, and others are severing ties with the real estate mogul and billionaire businessman.

Hillary continues to lead the Democratic field.

Bobby Jindal’s entry makes 13 GOP candidates (so far) in race for president

By Lynn R. Mitchell

And then there were thirteen.

Today Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal threw his hat in the ring as a Republican candidate for the 2016 presidential race.

I’ve got to admit it was a surprise when I learned last night that Jindal planned to make his announcement today because, even though he had made noises in the past of considering a run, it was not something I had heard recently. Maybe I just wasn’t listening in the right places.

Irregardless, he’s in as the GOP field continues to grow. According to the Washington Post (see Bobby Jindal announces entry into 2016 presidential race), his planned Wednesday afternoon announcement was scooped by himself when he posted on Twitter: “I’m running for President of the United States of America. Join me: http://www.bobbyjindal.com/announcement/”

Who will be next? I’m hearing New Jersey Governor Chris Christie may be planning to announce next week. Stay tuned….

Jeb surging, Rand Paul plunging in GOP primary voters poll

By Lynn R. Mitchell

The numbers look good for Governor Jeb Bush as he continues to campaign during the 2016 presidential race.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is losing support among likely Republican primary voters, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

The poll shows support growing for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who made his candidacy official only last week.

But Paul, who jumped in early on April 7, has shown a decline, Politico notes.

Only 49 percent of likely GOP voters said they could see themselves voting for Paul for president in June. That’s a 10 percent drop from the same survey in April, when he had just announced.

Bush headed up the poll, which 75 percent, a rise of five percent from April.

Rand Paul continues to alienate national security Republicans who are interested in protecting the homeland from terrorism attacks like those that happened on September 11, 2001 (see Christie goes after Rand Paul’s soft stance on terrorism).

Christie goes after Rand Paul’s soft stance on terrorism

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Chris Christie speaks the truth (see reporter Daniel Straus’ Chris Christie rips Rand Paul on Patriot Act). Rand Paul may have been elected as a Republican but he is a Libertarian especially when it comes to national security.

Referring to Paul’s filibuster on the floor of Congress that allowed parts of the Patriot Act to expire, Christie said:

“These types of actions, I’m telling you from experience, are shortsighted. And these same people who give these long speeches up on Capitol Hill if, God forbid, there is some kind of other attack in this country, will be the first ones to [drag] the CIA director and the FBI director up to Capitol Hill, put them under oath and excoriate them for not connecting the dots and not preventing the attacks,” Christie said.

True. It happened after 9/11. The Patriot Act was put into place after the devastatingly tragic terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001, as radical Muslims attacked New York City’s Twin Towers, Arlington’s Pentagon, and caused the airplane crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, of United Flight 93 that was thought to be headed to the U.S. Capitol or the White House.

Christie added, “This is about life and death for our country, and I stand for keeping America safe and making America strong and not giving political speeches on the floor of the Senate to raise money for a political campaign.”

Chris Christie gets it. Never forget.

Brackets for 2016 political junkies

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Since it’s March Madness and everyone is marking their brackets, the Washington Post’s Philip Bump with The Fix decided to post brackets for political junkies (see OK, fine: Here’s the 2016 election if it were an NCAA bracket).

My guy, Jeb Bush, is ranked #2 on the brackets versus #15 Chris Christie. That’s okay … #1 Scott Walker is enjoying his time in the sun before he’s knocked out by someone else, say, Marco Rubio who will then be knocked out by another. They will each enjoy their high times and their low times … so having Jeb Bush ranked #2 is fine.

Here’s what the WaPo wrote:

Goldberg: If GOP purists sit out 2016, they could be cause of Hillary in White House

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Bernie Goldberg made a couple of observations in his latest column (see End the GOP civil war; sign the pledge). After explaining that some Republican candidates showed up in Iowa, he noted an accurate comment from NJ Governor Chris Christie:

As reported in the New York Times, [Chris Christie] “cautioned against requiring a candidate to pass conservative litmus tests.”

“If that’s the standard we hold each other to as a party we will never win another national election,” he told the conservative crowd.

That’s just the kind of thing that riles true-blue conservatives. But he’s right.

Goldberg went on to explain the futility and folly of that kind of thinking:

Jeb: Big advantage in minority outreach

By Lynn R. Mitchell

In Tuesday’s Washington Post, “Right Turn” columnist Jennifer Rubin noted that Jeb Bush has a big advantage in minority outreach that is somewhat lacking in other possible 2016 GOP candidates (see Minority outreach that works). She wrote:

The most interesting part of the Mason-Dixon Florida Poll may not be that 59 percent of Republicans there want Jeb Bush to run for president. He was, after all, a successful governor there. Rather, two other figures pop out: A large share of the Hispanic vote in both parties (44 percent) and of independents (50 percent) want him to run. It is a telling reminder that saying you want to reach out, after deciding you want to be president, is a far different thing than having an established appeal with non-traditional GOP voters. Bush got 61 percent of the Hispanic vote in his first gubernatorial election and 56 percent in his re-election.

Larry Sabato’s revised 2016 presidential field … Jeb moves to top

By Lynn R. Mitchell

The University of Virginia’s Larry Sabato has come out with the latest Crystal Ball analysis of the 2016 presidential lineup for Republicans and, not surprisingly, it centers mostly around the only candidate to (almost) announce so far, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush (who, technically, is surveying the landscape — political code for “he’s running”).

Sabato, long-time director of the U.Va. Center for Politics, noted the turtle mix-up that occurred over the holidays with Jeb Bush’s announcement which shot him to the top of the list, although he did not have far to go because he had been near the top of the list for a while.

Republicans most likely to be 2016 GOP nominee

By Lynn R. Mitchell

The Hill has their list of 13 Republicans most likely to be nominees for the Republican presidential nomination for 2016 (see 13 Republicans most likely to win WH). I don’t agree with some of their choices but it makes for interesting speculation.

Judge denies McDonnell request for dismissal and separate trials, his lawyers prepare defense against the highly questionable charges

By Lynn R. Mitchell

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Motions denied: A federal court judge today denied a motion by former Gov. Bob McDonnell to separate his trial from that of his wife, Maureen. He also refused to throw out corruption charges against the McDonnells. That means the joint trial will go on on July 28.

It’s sad to see that this witch hunt has been allow to progress so far. To help with the governor’s defense, go to The Restoration Fund to donate. You will be joining other high-profile names like former Massachusetts Governor and U.S. President candidate Mitt Romney who gave $10,000. Every little bit helps.

Also check out these articles about the federal government and its pursuit of Republican governors in Virginia and New Jersey. While ignoring the bungling of Benghazi where Americans actually died, DoJ pursues high-ranking Republicans: